Refrigerating-car.



No. 634,447. Patented Oct. I0, |899. W. E. DONEHOWER, J. J. DOWNS & J. A. DWYER. REFRIGEBATING CAR.

(Application 4mem sepfh 3,1398.)

(Nuo Model.) '2 Sheets-Sheet l.

@Q6/M4# m @Ma Patented Uct. I0, |899.

No. 634,447. i

W. E. DONEHOWER, J. J. DOWNS J. A. DW-YER.

BEFRIGERATING CAR.

(Application led Sept. 3, 1898.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM E.l DONEHOWER, JOHN J. DOWNS, AND JOHN A. DWYER, OF NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.

REFRlGERATlNG-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters lPatent No. 634,447, dated October 10, 1899.

Application filed September 3, 1898. Serial No. 690,247. (No model.) v

To @ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM E. DoNE- HOWER,JOHN J.DowNs,and J oHN A.DWYER, citizens of the United States, residing at North Platte, in the county of Lincoln and State of relative position of pumps, dac.

Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigerating-Oars; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in the construction and combination of parts necessary to produce a refrigerating-car, which will beherenafter fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, made a part of this application. v 1

The object of our invention, among others, is to provide a refrigeratin g apparatus located at any desired point within the car or upon the train and certain additional means whereby motive power is obtained directlyA from the car-axle, as set forth, thus obviating the necessity of a special motor for running the apparatus.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a car provided with our refrigerating mechanism, the front side of said car being removed to disclose said mechanism. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the arrangement of pipes in the bottom of tank, Fig. 3 is an elevation of the, end of the car with the end wall removed. Fig. i illustrates in section the valve used for releasing surplus air from the air-tank. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 illustratethe valve mechanism employed to regulate the quantity of air used in running the ammoniapump.

For convenience in describing the various details of our invention reference will be made thereto by means of numerals, the same numeral being employed to designate the same part in the several views.

Briefly stated, our invention consists in mechanism adapted to take power from the axle of the car, whereby the refrigerating processes are effected. In the present case we employ this power primarily to operate an air-pump, which stores away a quantity of compressed air in an air-tank. This air is then used as needed for the operation of the refrigerating mechanism.

In carrying out our invention We rigidly secure to the car-axle 1 the driving-gear 2, designed to mesh with the gear 3, keyed to the journal 4, the ends of which are mounted in the bearing-blocks 5. The driving-gear 2 is concave upon its outer face, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, the object of the concavity thus provided being to compensate for the rocking position or lateral swaying of the body of the car with respect t0 the carrying-axle thereof, thus enabling the gear 3 to always remain in mesh with the gear 2, even though the car-bodybe laterally inclined to one side or the other, as will be incident to a rapid movement of the train.

Rigidly attached to gear 3 is gear 6, which meshes with pump-gear 7, mounted in bearingblocks 8. The bearing-blocks 5 and 8 are respectively held yieldingly in` position by the guide-frames 9 and 10, the object of thus mounting said blocks being to enable them to move up or down to compensate for any lateral motion that may be imposed upon the car and also to compensate for the spring of the car. The shaft of the gear 7 carries the crank 11, to which is .connected the pistonrod 12, designed to operate the air-pump 13. Said pump is of the ordinary construction Vand preferably pumps air at one end only,

where it is provided with a receiving-valve 14 and an eXit-valve,which latter permits the air drawn into the cylinder by one stroke of the piston to pass out, by the next stroke through the pipe 141E into the compressed-air tank 15, located, preferably, beneath the car.

Conveniently located within the car, preferably near the air-pump 13 and disposed parallel thereto, is the double-cylinder pump 1G, one cylinder 17 of which is provided with the chest 1S,which communicates therewith. By meansof the pipe 19 this chestis connected with the airtank. Said pipe is provided, preferably at a point near the tank, with a suitable valve 20, by which any desired amount of air may be admitted from the air-tank to the chest 1S. Said chest 1S and cylinder 19 are similar to the chest and cylinder of an ordinary steam-engine, but in this case we use compressed air instead of steam as a motive power for driving the piston. The other cylinder 2l constitutes an ammonia-pump. The piston in this pulnp is connected to the piston in cylinder 17 by the piston-rod 22, so that the pump 2l is operated by the action of the compressed air in the opposite cylinder. This am monia-pump is provided with valves similar to those employed in pump 13, and when in motion the ammonia is drawn from pipe 23 through one of these valves into the cylinder 21 and is expelled through the other valve into pipe 24:. Said pipe 23 connects the ammonia-pump with the ammonia-tank 23, which is preferably located in the corner of the car adjacent to that occupied by the pumps.

Across the end of the ear, immediately above the pumps, &c., we prefer to locate the water tank or condenser 25, which we keep partially filled with water. The pipe 21, into which ammonia is driven by the pump 21, extends upwardly through this tank to the top of the car, where it extends back and forth laterally and longitudinally any desired number of times. It is here illustrated, Figs. l and 3, as forming the parallelsections 24 and 2i". It then forms the section 24h, which from a point in the top of the car immediately over one corner of tank 25 descends to the bottom of said tank, where it forms the series of zigzag sections 24d, which lie on said bottom, passing back and forth across the entire width thereof and finally terminating in the upwardly-extending section 2&0, which enters the ammonia-tank, into which it again discharges the ammonia, said ammonia having been of course condensed as it passed through the zigzag sections in the bottom of the condenser, said sections being always covered with water. Pipe 26 leads from the air-tank 15 to a point beneath the surface of the water in the condenser 25. Through this pipe a jet of air is constantly passed and is released in the water, the object thereof being to keep the water at a proper temperature to perform its part of the work in the process Of refrigeration. At the point where said pipe connects with the air-tank is the safety-valve illustrated in Fig. i. Said valve consists of the valve-chamber 27, which is provided with the valve 23, suitably seated therein. Rigidly attached to said valve is the stem 2f), secured to the lower end of which is the plate 30. Between said plate and the lower end of valve-chamber 27 we locate the expansionspring 3l, which tends to hold valve 2S normally closed. Vhen, however, the pressure in the air-tank becomes too great, said pressure will overcome the force of spring 31 and will lift valve 23 from its seat, which will permit the excessive amount of air to escape. By this means any excessive amount of air which may be stored in the air-tank is not wasted, but is passed through the water in the condenser for the purpose above specified. The upperpart of valve-chamber above valve 23 is connected with the air-tank by a small pipe 32, which permits a small quantity of air to be always passing from said tank into the water in the condenser so long as there is compressed air in the air-tank. The top of valve-chamber 27 is adapted to receive the threaded cap 27, to which the pipe 26 is attaehed.

The valve 20 (illustrated in Figs. 5, 6, and 7) consists of the valve-chamber 33, to the top of which is rigidly attached the annular plate 3i, having a series of graduations 35, which may be numbered, if desired, as referred to hereinafter, and the valve 3G, having the horizontal aperture 37 and carrying on its top projection the pointer 38. .The conical valve 3G is held in operative position by the cap-nut 39, threaded onto the stem 40, projecting from the bottom of said valve In order to determine the desired speed which will be imparted to the pumping apparatus, the refrigerator will be tested in the shops before being placed upon the road as follows: The tank 15 will be filled with air and valve 2O will be opened sufficiently to start the pump 2l. A thermometer will be placed in the car, and when the air therein is lowered to the fullest extent possible with the pump working at this speed the temperature indicated by the thermometer will be recorded opposite the proper graduation on the dial-plate 34 of valve. The valve may then be opened a little more, and after the thermometer has indicated the lowest telnperature resulting therefrom this position of the valve is also indicated in degrees of temperature on the dial-plate. The valve may be opened still farther and the proper registration, made, and so on until the maximum and minimum degrees of temperature desired are indicated, thus making it possible for the attendant to merely turn the valve till the indieatin g-in ger registers with the degree of temperature desired.

XVe claim- 1. In a refrigerator-car, a pressure-regulated air-valve consisting of a housing or chamber 27, a valve 28 seated therein, means to hold said valve normally closed, and an escape-pipe 32 connecting the reservoir and said housing whereby a limited quantity of air is constantly permitted to pass from the reservoir into said housing while the pressure in the reservoir is insuiicient to raise said valve, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A pressure-regulated valve consisting of a housing, a valve-seat provided therein, a valve located in said seat and having a spring to hold it normally down, in combination In testimony whereof we afx our signatures in presence of two Witnesses.

WM. E. DONEHOXVER, JOHN J. DOWNS. JOHN A.'DWYER.

VVibnesses:

E. F. SEEBERGER, ARTHUR MCNAMARA. 

